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Books by Black Atheists

Contrary to popular belief, there have been several books published by African American atheists over the past decade. Despite the growing number of African American atheists, and stock calls for “diversity” within the movement, scholarship by black authors and academics has received little critical visibility or popular support from secular/atheist/humanist communities.

New and old offerings from prolific Rice University scholar Anthony Pinn and more:

Pinn challenges the long held assumption that African American theology is solely theist, arguing that this assumption has stunted African American theological discourse and excluded a rapidly growing segment of the African American population – non-theists. Rejecting the assumption of theism as the African American orientation, Pinn poses a crucial question: What is a non-theistic theology?

Moral Combat provides a provocative analysis of the political and religious battle for America’s soul. It examines the hijacking of civil rights by Christian fascism; the humanist imperative of feminism and social justice; the connection between K-12 education and humanism; and the insidious backlash of Tea Party-style religious fundamentalism against progressive social welfare public policy. Moral Combat also reveals how atheists of color are challenging the whiteness of “New Atheism” and its singular emphasis on science at the expense of social and economic justice. In Moral Combat, Sikivu Hutchinson highlights the cultural influence of African American humanist and atheist social thought in America. She places this tradition within the broader context of public morality and offers a far-reaching vision for critically conscious humanism.

A stirring call for blacks in America to critically examine their loyalty and dedication to religion and to begin adapting a lifestyle centered on rational thinking. It is time to break the chains of mental bondage caused by religious dogma. This book is a compelling presentation of practical reasons using a common sense approach that encourages blacks in America to disregard their need for religion. It provides a perspective on the harmful influences of religion. Author Donald R. Wright addresses the effects organized religion, primarily Christianity, has had on blacks in America from slavery to the present. He gives a brief but concise explanation as to how slaves were converted to Christianity. He has decoded this Matrix called religion. This book presents the case as an advocate for an alternative view.

Known only to each other, they walk among us, invisible and undetected. Now, the secret is out! Atheists exist in the African American community. In the African American community there is an unspoken rule to never air dirty laundry in public, and for years the inner workings of the black community stayed hidden beneath a veil of dark silence, but with integration came a mingling of the races and now few secrets remain. Now, there is one there is one less. Not only do black nonbelievers exist, they walk unnoticed among the “true-believers” along with a host of other religious skeptics and freethinkers. Any hint of atheism or freethought in the African American community remain virtually invisible, camouflaged by indignant denial and indistinct expressions, which help conceal clear atheistic, agnostic or freethought connections . Despite more than 90% of African Americans claiming Christianity, Black and Not Baptist explores how there is a significant chasm between belief and behavior with a searing look at the statistics for adultery, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, gambling and other social problems in both the white and black communities.

As the first book exclusively dedicated to humanists of African descent, “The Black Humanist Experience” gives Black humanists the opportunity to discuss their many and varied reasons for leaving the religious fold and embracing a humanist life stance. As a minority within a minority in the United States, African American humanists often feel isolated and misunderstood. And across the globe humanists are in the minority among Blacks just as they are among all races. These thoughtful essays help to draw attention to the vitality of the humanist movement within the Black community while putting to rest many myths about humanists. Contrary to popular stereotypes, most humanists do not reject religion out of disillusionment, ignorance, desperation, or misanthropy.

“So much conversation regarding atheism and humanism gains no traction, and does little to push beyond areas of comfort and well worn arguments. Sikivu Hutchinson’s work offers an important corrective to this. With clear and sharp insights, Hutchinson pushes readers to recognize and tackle the patterns of thought and action that limit any real ability to respond to issues of race, gender, and sexuality from a transformative and humanist perspective. Read her work, but fasten your seat belt first!”

– Anthony Pinn, author African American Humanist Principles and The End of God Talk: An African American Humanist Theology

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12 thoughts on “Books by Black Atheists”

Adding them to my wish list. 🙂
But FYI, your link for the forthcoming book is broken. It leads tohttp://freethoughtblogs.com/blackskeptics/2012/09/11/books-by-black-atheists/www.infidelbooks.wordpress.com
because it’s been entered in the HTML as<a href="www.infidelbooks.wordpress.com">
instead of<a href="http://www.infidelbooks.wordpress.com">

[…] Books by Black Atheists | Black Skeptics Contrary to popular belief, there have been several books published by African American atheists over the past decade. Despite the growing number of African American atheists, and calls for “diversity” within the movement, … […]

Fantastic. Thanks for the list (and the forthcoming book with the awesome title). I really need to get back to reading books regularly, and I suspect that this will be some of the most interesting atheism-oriented work out there. And fie on me for not having read already those titles of which I was aware.

I’d like to add a few which are all by the same author, Professor John G. Jackson who was born in 1907. Before his death, he penned a number of books about religion and African civilizations. The first three books below may still be obtained through American Atheist Press:

The Pagan Origins of the Christ Myth, which according to the description, “…is one of the American Atheist Press’ best-selling books. No wonder, since it takes on the question most historians of the Roman empire have not had the guts to ask–did Christ exist? The answer is NO! Find out why.”

Hubert Henry Harrison-The Black Socrates. Originally published in the February 1987 issue of the American Atheist newsjournal: Atheists of a Different Color. Hubert Henry Harrison “…was a great scholar, orator, and writer. He was a champion of labor, and an avowed Atheist…[and] denounced the churches for their abetting of superstitution, ignorance, and poverty and made a plea for birth control.”

Christianity before Christ examines, “…extensive literature on the Pagan origins of Christianity. Most of these works, written by scholars for scholars, never reached the general reader. …this treatise is to popularize the results of the great scholars names, and a few others…”

Man, God, and Civilization, printed by Citadel Press takes on even broader subject matter, “Nearly all the so-called world histories and histories of civilization…are based mainly on what is known as European civilization…This species of parochialism gives a false picture of human history…European culture was not indigenous but was derived from the older civilizations of Africa and Asia.” He tackles ‘geology, archaeology, biology, sociology, and anthropology.